Cancer-Scorpio Hug Day
by Perryels
Summary: When Midorima finally understands the meaning of truly appreciating someone. In a very…tsundere kind of way.


**Because flippin' tables this pairing brings out all the fangirl feels in me.**

**This story was loosely based off of this photo I found on zerochan/1207555.**

**I apologize for any errors on the tenses. I was thinking of this in present tense but ended up writing it in past, and it kind of just meshed up all in my head and I don't know how to fix it anymore TT_TT**

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**Cancer-Scorpio Hug Day**

Midorima was definitely not one to be showy of his feelings. Most of the time, he liked them locked up and never witnessing the light of day. So it was quite easy to think that the shooter could be such a heartless, unappreciative little cold-blood sometimes. Especially when all he could do was to scoff at a pretty sincere complement-slash-praise made by a certain raven-haired point guard, or to _hmph_ at the little things he did for him. Seriously, how many people do you think are out there who would be willing to drive you around in a friggin' rickshaw?

Clearly, Midorima didn't understand the saying that one does not truly appreciate something (or rather, someone) until they're eventually gone.

That's not completely true. It's just that Midorima had other more _subtle_ ways to show his appreciation. Like, the way he turns back to have a small barely visible (but still there) smile of satisfaction upon hearing said compliment. Or the way he sometimes purposely gets a can of juice other than his _shiruko_ and tosses it over to Takao, claiming that he'd made a 'mistake'.

Midorima though wasn't planning to go any further than that because he was just _that _much of a _tsundere._

Up until an incident that allegedly challenged his "_tsundere-_ness" and forced him to take one more step—as far as having mini-heart attacks, paranoid thoughts, sleepless nights, and coming up with lame (very lame) excuses go.

. . .

Practice ended as usual with tired bodies, half-staggering towards the locker rooms, and not so pleasant smells lingering in the air. A certain captain looked displeased as he scrunched up his nose at the odor that decided to greet it. Ootsubo's face immediately soured up, and he turned to look at an innocent blonde who had just changed into a clean shirt.

"Miyaji! Shower, will you?" He announced assumingly.

Miyaji though, only gave him a bemused stare as he tried to figure out what his captain was going on about. Until he too witnessed the foul odor. "Oh god, that is NOT me!" He spat outraged. Mostly at the false accusations. He didn't have _that_ kind problem. "Geez, it's that open trash can over there, see!" Miyaji quickly added to his defense by pointing at said garbage bin. It was indeed left wide open and was reeking rather horribly.

"Pineapples are going to wilt," Kimura humored, because he can.

And this eventually led to bursts of laughter and puns on Miyaji's bodily issues—_which he didn't have!_ Even Takao decided to join in on the fun, but to the point guard's dismay, only ended up earning a ten lap jog around the court. Courtesy of his now very pissed off senior.

"Right now?" Takao complained for a second.

The look on Miyaji's face screamed, _"Hell yeah, right freakin' now!"_

And Takao quickly made his way outside.

Meanwhile, amidst all the commotion the rest of Shuutoku's regulars were making, Midorima remained silently secluded as he carried on with his own business—packing up and getting ready to go. Although sometime during Midorima's anti-socializing, Takao never did miss trying to convince him into poking fun at Miyaji as well, because apparently, he needed to 'loosen up' once in awhile.

Midorima simply rolled his eyes at this. He had been wise to refuse. Look who _didn't _end up with ten rounds.

Later on, Midorima decided to finally announce his leave. None of his teammates even bothered to reply though, since they had been too engrossed in whatever it was they were doing. So grabbing the particular rubber chicken that had been sitting on the bench (you could only guess) Midorima left.

At the court, Takao was about halfway through his jog when he decided to sidetrack and chase after Midorima, who was making his way towards the exit.

Midorima sighed—mostly at Takao's expense. The point guard seriously needed to focus on getting his tasks done. Midorima initially planned to ignore Takao in hopes of getting his mindset straight, but he found himself stopping at the familiar voice that called out to him.

"Shin-chan~!" Takao ran to Midorima's side. "You're not waiting up for me?" He pouted, but Midorima had already taken note of his failed attempts at feigning hurt. It was useless to guilt trip him.

"It was your own fault, Takao. I did warn you about pushing it."

Takao gave a hearty chuckle. "I know! But you should've seen Miyaji-san's face. Priceless!" The chuckle died down. "Oh by the way, since you're leaving first, I'll text you once I'm outta here, okay?" Takao beamed.

There was a tug somewhere inside Midorima, but he wasn't sure if it was at the nerves or at the heart. Takao was being silly again. He didn't need to inform him of his whereabouts. It's not like he _had_ to know. But that sense of trust and faith Takao had in him…

"You don't have to," Midorima said as he pushed his glasses up. Takao only giggled at this—like the many times he did when Midorima wanted to be taken seriously.

"Cold as ever, Shin-chan! Well, wait up for my goodnight text instead." Midorima was just about to oppose when a voice had cut him off. It was Miyaji yelling at Takao to continue his jog unless he wanted to make it twenty. "Ah… I have to go. See you tomorrow, Shin-chan!"

And with that, Midorima was left with no choice but to walk home tonight.

_Alone._

Not that it bothered him.

_Much._

Although, it had been somewhat…

_Lonely._

Like he'd ever admit it though.

. . .

At home, a green device had _once again_ caught Midorima's attention.

His mobile was sitting atop his desk, completely still and unmoving where he had left it. But the way Midorima had directed his attention to it every time he would go so much as to pass by the area was as if the thing would suddenly evaporate in thin air.

Midorima would glance at it, debate whether or not to go check it out then stop himself midway, thinking of how ridiculous he was acting. He would end up ignoring it and continue with his previous task—only to repeat the cycle again for about six to ten more times in every six to ten minutes.

It wasn't until much later that night when he finally mustered up the humility (because his pride didn't let him do so earlier) to actually pick up the wretched thing and check for any messages. Not that he was anticipating for something in particular. Midorima simply wanted to check for anything school related. Which may or may not have involved a certain point guard.

There were apparently no new messages. Midorima couldn't help but feel a little sting in his chest. _Heartburn from dinner_, Midorima assumed, even though he'd already eaten his meal earlier that evening.

So in the end, Takao did not text at all. In which case, the point guard must have let it slipped from his mind. Well, it wasn't so much of a big deal. Whether he decided to text or not to was none of Midorima's concern.

That was until something very urgent occurred to him, and he immediately shifted his gaze to catch sight of the time. 11PM. Then it hit him. And it hit him _hard_ when he realized just how important Takao's text was supposed to be. _Takao was supposed to let Midorima know he'd gotten home._ But it was already this late and not a single message` did Midorima receive from him.

_Could something have had happened?_

Midorima swallowed at the uncertainty that washed over him, and he began to pace the room restlessly. And as if to make matters worse, the thought of this morning's horoscope started to creep into his mind.

"…_Virgos are looking good today! Wear your brightest shirts to bring in extra good fortune! As for Scorpios, not only do you rank last, but today is possibly your _**worst day yet**_! Make sure to stay put at home! You don't want to be coming across bad luck. Leos on the other hand are…"_

Midorima felt his face paling.

"Surely it had been a mere coincidence…"

But he wasn't convinced at all for he knew that Oha-Asa's words were absolute.

"But what if it's not?"

Midorima's hands were clamming up with sweat, and he had to put down his mobile to keep it from slipping under his grasp.

He tried to convince himself again. "Of course it's a coincidence. What are the odds of him getting run over by a truck? Or getting held up? Or getting attacked by a grizzly bear?" The last thought had been for humor. But it didn't stop a series of paranoid thoughts of some less than pleasant accidents from entertaining Midorima's imagination.

At that point, Midorima was already feeling sick to the gut. His heart rate was speeding up, and he was sure of passing out of pure horror.

And then he'd had it.

Compulsively, Midorima reached for his mobile and punched in Takao's number.

"I am simply calling to remind Takao to bring the textbooks he had borrowed from me. There is no way am I worried whatsoever…"

But the reaction on his face showed otherwise. Midorima's heart began to sink. He flipped his mobile shut.

"The number you have dialed is currently out of coverage area. Please try your call again?" Midorima was dumbfounded by the words he'd heard from the other end of the line. He tried to process what they meant but he couldn't.

"Takao, you fool. What happened to you?"

That night, Midorima didn't get a single wink of sleep.

. . .

Midorima was dragging his feet as he made his way to school. He was slumping, his legs were unsteady, he was swaying from side to side like some drunken old man, and it looked like he was going to pass out sometime soon. The shooter was considerably haggard that morning for the simple reason of not being able to get any sleep at all the previous night.

Why? Because as much as Midorima hated to admit it, his thoughts had been filled with nothing but worry and concern for Takao.

And now Midorima was chanting to himself like the mindless, sleepless zombie that he was. There were things he failed to do, but wished he was able to. Midorima should've called Takao sooner that night to make sure he'd arrived home safely. He should've thanked him for that last piece of _sashimi_ during lunch. He should've apologized for being too cold at times. He should've said…

Midorima's heart slowly broke. _Now Takao was…_

"Shin-chan~!" The familiarity of that enthusiastic, highly affectionate, and slightly annoying voice prompted Midorima to stop on his tracks and turn around.

…_was completely safe and unharmed. _And Midorima felt like such an idiot for believing for a second that he wasn't.

"Good morning!" Takao greeted as he made his way over to Midorima. He gave him a quick pat on the shoulder as soon as he reached him. "So uh, about last night…" Takao trailed off as he awkwardly began to rub the back of his neck. "As soon as I got home, I immediately crashed on the bed and fell asleep! I was just so tired. Miyaji-san extended to twenty-five! Can you believe it? On top of that my cell phone died. I'm sorry for not texting you. Don't get mad!"

But Midorima wasn't.

Because he was relieved.

"Uh Shin-chan, what's with those eye bags?"

No. More than that. He was happy.

Without even thinking, Midorima found himself stretching out his arms and wrapping them around Takao's smaller figure. He pulled him close, the distance between them disappearing in one swift movement.

There was nothing but sheer silence as they both just stood there. The only probable noise was the sound of Midorima's steady-to-rapid heartbeat, which only Takao could hear as he was leaning on his chest. None of them moved or reacted. They just lived the moment.

"_Thank you for everything,"_ Midorima muttered as inaudible as possible.

"Shin-chan, what are you doing?"

Midorima's thoughts shattered in an instant.

He cleared his throat. "It's…uh… Cancer-Scorpio hug day. Oha-Asa stated that if a Cancer hugs a Scorpio on this particular day at this particular time, then the Cancer will have the best luck for the rest of the month."

Midorima wanted to slap himself. That was a pretty lame made up excuse, even for him. But it didn't matter considering how it seemed to have worked as he felt Takao nodding against his chest. Much to his utter relief.

"Shin-chan?"

"Yes?"

"I can't breathe…"

Midorima quickly let go, shocked upon the realization. "Sorry…" A faint shade of pink started to tint his cheeks and he had to turn around to keep it from being noticed. Midorima briskly walked off, leaving Takao just a few feet behind. "Come on, Takao. We're going to be late," Midorima announced, now in his usual frigid tone, without looking back.

"A-ah wait! Shin-chan!"

But just before he followed the shooter, Takao smiled to himself. "Cancer-Scorpio hug day, huh?"

What Midorima didn't know was that Takao had watched Oha-Asa that morning as well.

"_You're welcome, Shin-chan."_

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**Well, I hope you guys liked it :D**

**And Happy Valentine's Day! My valentines this year are my OTP's /shot. Lol. No, but seriously. Anyway, V-Day should be OTP appreciation day instead.**


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